ATLANTA and ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Cox Media Group and Dish have ended a dispute over retransmission fees that lasted nearly a year and a half with “a new multi-year agreement that will restore all CMG stations on Dish, effective immediately,” the two companies said in an extremely brief statement.
“Dish and CMG greatly appreciate the patience of their subscribers and viewers," the statement concluded.
The impasse, which started on Nov. 28, saw Dish pull the plug on 12 CMG stations in 9 markets after retransmission negotiations broke down.
During the dispute Cox accused Dish of then issuing an “inaccurate” press release that included “knowingly false statements” about its decision to pull the CMG local broadcast stations from its own customers and issued a cease-and-desist letter to Dish demanding the satellite provider retract what it said about the dispute. These statements were “designed to mislead viewers and thereby harm the reputation of CMG in the marketplace,” according to the attorneys’ letter.
